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March 8, 1932. w. LERICHE ET AL COMBINED DITCH PLOW AND GRADER Filed Sept. 10, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l T/If/fi A TTORNE Y March 8, 1932. w. LERICHE ET AL COMBINED DITCH PLOW AND GRADER Filed Sept. 10, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ANN.

l V/'///'s Aerie/7e mu [m Vfleas/ey INVENTORS BY M 777[//? A TIORNE Y Patentedbiar. 8, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE WILLIS LERICI-IE, OF ALLEN'IOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, AND IRA V. BEASLEY, F YUKON,

OKLAHOMA, ASSIGNORS, IN 0., OF ALLENTOWN,

BY MESNE ASSIGNIEENI'S, T0. CANAL LINING COMIPANY, PENNSYLVANIA, A COR-FORATION OF NEW/V JERSEY COMBINED ni'ronrnow AND GRADER Application filed September 10, 1930. Serial No. 480,838.

This invention relates to ditching and grading apparatus and more particularly to a combined ditch plow and grader.

Although the device of the present inven tion may be usedto advantage in difierent kinds of work, it is particularly adapted for use in making irrigation ditches or in clearing ditches previously in use. Usually, heretofcre, such ditches have been unlined and, -although the material at the sides and bottom of these ditches held the water reasonably well, there was a considerable loss of water due to seepage through the dirt or soil boundingthe ditches.

with the usual poured concrete. This method of lining would require forms to hold the concrete in place while setting and it would require a considerable thickness of such material at the bottom of a ditch to avoid breakage when the bottom is subjected to the effect ofsubstantial weight, as, for example, when one or more men get down into the ditch for cleaning or other purposes. The cost of lining ditches in this way would be prohibitive.

It has also been proposed to build ditches lined with gunite or the like formed of sand and cement projected into place against the em dirt walls by means of a cement gun. Preferably the sides and bottom of ditch are shaped by suitable means so that thelower part of the contour of a cross-section will be substantially in the form of an arc of a circle and the inner surface of the ditch will have a sort of glaze due to the action of the shaping means,-this glazed surface serving as a good backing against which the sand andhydrate'd cement are projected. With ditches lined in Kithis way, satisfactory results-may, due to various factors such as the inherent strength of the gunite, be'made comparatively thin and at a relatively low cost. It'is, however, important to provide *means" adapted for making ditches in such form that they can easily be rounded. Heretofore no satisfactory solution for this part of the problem has been found. I v An important object of the present inventi'onis toprovide ditch making means adapted It has been proposed to line such ditches to meet the aforesaid requirements. Another object is to provide an improved ditcher and grader. Further objects are to provide ditch making means adapted to form both sides of the ditch in the same manner simultaneously; ditch making means adapted to raise dirt from the ditch at both sides and to move the dirt away from the ditch while at the same time leveling the dirt at the desired level; and ditch making means adjustable to determine the height of the side walls.

Other objects and advantages will appear upon consideration of the following detailed description and of the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view;

Fig. 2 is a view inside elevation with parts omitted and others broken away; and

Fig. 3 is a View in elevation, showing the ditcher and grader as seen from the rear.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is a drawbar or beam, preferably in the form of a hollow metal beam of rectangular cross section, and 2 designates each of two plough shares attached to mould boards 3 which in turn are secured to thebeam 1 by means including a bar or support a extending downwardly and forwardly from the beam 1. At its forward end the beam 1 is provided with a clevis 6 for attachment to traction means, such as tractors, horses, etc. The clevis is connected with the beam in any suitable manner, as by connecting means including av bolt 7 and a nut '8.

The depth of the out by the plow may be regulated by means including an adjustable guide shoe 9, preferably provided by bending back one end of a square rod or bar 10 to serve'as the shoe, the rod 10 extending upwardly and rearwardly along one side of the beam 1 to which it is clamped by means of a rod 11 bent around three sides of the beam 1, a plate 12 fitting over the threaded ends of the rod 11, an'dnuts 13 applied to said threaded ends.

Preferably the plough portion, to which the descri tion has been limited thus far is l 7 provided with. suitable handles 14, and, as shown in the drawings, they constitute the rear ends of the sides 15 of a triangular frame of which the vertex rests on the upper surface 'so formed as to force the dirt outwardly at both sides of the ditch at its top. However, the present invention contemplates not'only the feature of forcing the loosedirt farther back from the sides of the ditch but also the feature of grading the loose dirt at a desired height abovethe bottom of the ditch. To this end, provision is made of two Spreaders '18, each of which preferably includesa body 7 portion 19 in the form of a steel plate, stiffeners in-the form of angle irons 20 secured to the plate 19 along the inner face thereof and adjacent to its upper and lower edges, and'a removable cutter 21 in the form of a steel plate demountably attached to the plate 19 bolts 22 passing through the plate 19 and one flange of the lowerstilfener 20, and nuts 23 screwed on the bolts. 7 a In order to provide for varying degrees 0 spreading action and adjustment of the grade at the sides of the ditch with reference to the bottom of the ditch, the connections between the two spreaders themselves and between the spreaders and the plow portion of r the apparatus mustv be suchthat the angle'between the spreaders may be varied and they I may be connected with said plow portion at 7 different heights. According to the embodiment disclosed herewith, the body portion 19 of each spreader is provided at its'forward end with an eye 24, secured thereto as by welding, and each eye 2A is mounted on a.

guide orhinge bar 25 at the corresponding side of the apparatus.

7 The desired vertical adjustment of the forwell as adjustably supported at their inner sides. For thispurp'ose, thereare provided,

ward end of each spreader may be maintainedvbymeans' of a set screw 26a threaded through the side-of the correspondingeye- 241 so that it may be tightened against the corresponding hingerbar or member.

Also the spreaders must'be strongly as according to the present'embodimentof the invention, an adjustable brace 26connecting tl e Spreaders near their rear ends and pivotally attached thereto and two inclined adspreadersandat the othe'rend with the other justable braces '27, each pivotally connected at oneend'with' the front end of one of the spreader at a'point farther to the rear. As here-d sclosed, the braces 26 and 27 are telescopic. and are of the pipe and bar type, that Preferably these so-' called hinge bars 25 are the legs of a U-shaped member and are connected at their upper ends with the corresponding sides 15 of the I triangular frame carrying the handles 141'.

is one section 28 of each of these braces is in the form of a pipe and the other section 29 is in the form of a bar slidingly mounted in the pipe. Each of these pipes and bars is provided at itsouter end with an eye 30 receiv- 'ing .a vertical pivot formed by the shank of a bolt 31 passing through flanges 32 of the The sections 28 and 29 of the adjustable braces may be held in adjusted position with respect to each other by pins 28a inserted into holes 29a in the pipe sections and 29b in the bar sections. These eyes 30 do not 00- cupy the entire length of the shanks between the .pairs of stifieners but they may beheld against movement along the shanks by means including brackets 34 secured to the outer ends of the braces and engaging-the inner faces of the projecting fiangesrof the stiffeners 20. Preferably the brackets 34; are formed with openingsto receive the shanks of the bolts 31, thus providing, in effect, longer bearing connections between the braces and the bolts.

It will be evident .that, in addition to the connection of the forward ends of-the spreaders.18 with the hinge bars 25, there-should be provision for support ofthe Spreaders to the rear of saidhinge :bars. To this end, the beam 1 may be provided with a rearward extension 35' (here shown as a beam or member of which one end is inserted in the rear end of the hollow beam) and the spreaders may be supported from this extension by suitable means such as a flexible connector 36 connecting the brace 26 with said extension 35. The length ofthe connectionbetween the,

brace 26 and the extension 35 may be varied in accordance with the vertical adjustment of the spreaders along the hinge bars. After adjusting the Spreaders at the proper height, the parts may be-ret'ainedin adjusted position by tightening the set screws26a and securingtogether the ends; of the connector 36 stifteners 20and secured inposition by nuts I 7 by suitable means such as a clamp 37 including two parts 38 and 39 with corresponding grooves to receive the; ends of theconnector and a screw 40 positionedbetween the sets of grooves and adapted to'draw the parts to 'gether-to clamp the ends of the connector or to release them zinyaccordance with the direction of the rotation of the screw. V

Upon inspection of the drawings, it wil be seen that the'plow is broad at its base and will form a ditch ortrenchof the general form desired. Also-the shares and mouldboards-at opposite sides of the plow are symmetric'alwith respectto a yertical planepass ing'throughthe axis ofthe-b'eam 1, andconsequently the opposite sides of the ditch are "symmetrical with respe'ctyto each'other.

7 It will be apparent that the apparatus of this invention is particularly adapted for cutting ditch which can readily be trimmed to provide a crosssection in the general form of a segment of a circle, and for spreading and leveling the material thrown up from the ditch.

It should be understood that various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts and that parts may be used without others without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a device of the character described, a beam, mould boards below said beam and arranged to act equally on opposite sides thereof, said mould boards being rigidly connected with the beam, two vertical hinge bars rigidly connected with said beam and arranged with one back of each of the mould boards and adjacent to the rear surface thereof, a spreader hinged on each of said hinge bars and movable upwardly and downwardly thereon, means for adjusting the angle between the Spreaders, and means for holding the spreaders at any desired height.

2. In a device of the character described, a beam, mould boards below said beam and arranged to act equally on opposite sides thereof, said mould boards being rigidly connected with the beam, a spreader back of each of the mould boards, a hinge at the forward end of each of said spreaders limiting it to swinging movement about a vertical axis fixed with respect to the beam and to upward and downward movement, means including adjustable braces for adjusting the angle between said spreaders, and means for holding the spreaders at any desired height.

3. In a device of the character described, a beam, mould boards below said beam and arranged to act equally on opposite sides of the beam, said mould boards being rigidly connected with the beam, a U-shaped member having as its legs substantially vertical hinge bars rigidly connected at their upper ends with said beam and arranged back of the mould boards and adiacent to the rear surface thereof, a spreader for each side of the device, hinged to the corresponding hinge bar and movable upwardly and downwardly thereon, and means for maintaining the Spreaders in adjusted position.

4. In a combined ditch plow and grader as described, a metal beam, mould boards below said beam and arranged to act equally on opposite sides of the beam to shape the ditch and raise the loosened dirt above the top of a ditch, means for rigidly connecting said mould boards with said beam including a member integral with the beam at its upper end and extending downwardly and forward- 1y at the line of connection between the forwardedges of the mould boards, a vertical hinge bar rigidly connected with said beam adjacent the back of each of the mould boards, a spreader hinged on each of said hinge bars and movable upwardly and downwardly thereon, means for adjusting the angle between the Spreaders, and means for holding the spreaders at any desired height.

5. In a combined ditch plow and grader, a metal beam, mould boards below said beam and acting equally on opposite sides thereof, said mould boards being rigidly connected with the beam, a V-shaped member of which the vertex engages the top of the beam and the sides constitute handles, means for rigidly connecting said V-shaped member with said beam, a U-shaped member of which the uprights are adjacent to the back of the corresponding mould boards and constitute hinge bars of which the upper ends are integral with the corresponding handles, a spreader on each of said hinge bars and movable upwardly and downwardly thereon, means for adjusting the angle between the spreaders and means for holding the spreaders at any desired height.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

WILLIS LERICHE. IRA V. BEASLEY. 

